The holiday season has finally arrived and PCC helped out this season by having their annual Holiday Angels program.
The Holiday Angels program is an annual event that PCC hosts on campus. The program helps out families in the programs in CalWorks, EOPs, Cares, and Pass students.
The Office of Student Life puts up a tree in their office filled with Christmas tags with the wishes the children have asked for this Christmas. Once the tree is up, anyone is welcome to come in and pick any tag they’d like and choose one gift from the three options on the tag to give the child. Once they purchase it, they must bring it back to OSL wrapped and ready to go. The maximum for each gift is $25.
The event brings these families together with their children to not only make these kids wishes come true but so that they can have a nice dinner and celebration that some may not get to have this Christmas.
“Really the objective is giving them the opportunity to have a really nice Christmas dinner with each other,” said Julia Russo, vice president of Student Services.
Associated Students hosts the dinner for these guests and have an eventful night in store for them. They will have the dinner for the guests, music, games for the little kids, such as having a table with coloring pages and pin the carrot on the snowman, and games for the older children such as ice hockey. And of course Santa will be there to give the gifts to the children.
This year they are expecting about 200 guests—twice as many as they had last year.
“The dinner last year was for 100 guests, so we’re expanding it by double this year which we’re super excited about,” said Russo.
Most importantly, the college comes together, such as staff, faculty, clubs and students that participate and walk in to grab a tag.
“The PCC community has been very generous over the years. They all come out and they’ve brought gifts for these kids. Like last year we ran out of tags which was really nice,” said Carrie Afuso, Student Life adviser.
The Holiday Angels Program is not only for a good cause and to help these kids but also brings joy to those who are participating in giving these gifts and brings the community closer.
“It makes you want to do it again and it also makes it very heartwarming not only for your Christmas but their Christmas,” said Irving Morales, president of Associated Students.
The event is held on Dec. 18 in the Piazza where there will be food and games for the guests, a Christmas tree and the opening of gifts with Santa.
Stop by the Office of Student Life, located in CC 105, and grab a tag from the Holiday Angels Giving Tree to make a child’s Christmas wish come true this holiday season. Gifts are due back wrapped to OSL by Dec. 10.
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